Online shopping aficionados are likely already aware of the existence of Amazon Mobile, the application that first extended the premiere shopping site’s savings and functionality to smartphone users. But thanks to exciting advances in mobile technology, many consumers are now using their tablets to enjoy a richer shopping experience during the time that they’re away from their home computers. And while you can certainly download the free Amazon Mobile application to your iPad, you might be interested to know that there’s a better way to shop on Amazon, courtesy of an application designed specifically for use on your favorite tablet. With Amazon Windowshop you can get all of the features you love in an app that takes full advantage of the iPad’s unique functionality. Here are just a few aspects of this application that you’re sure to enjoy.

First and foremost, you will have access to the joy of shopping on Amazon. According to the app descriptor on iTunes, this includes the “same selection, same low prices, same fast delivery” and so on; in short, it’s Amazon on your iPad. You can search by category, complete with a drop-down menu of subcategories that makes it easy to narrow your results. You can also browse under familiar headings like new releases, bestsellers, featured items, and of course, recommendations. And you can even look through Amazon pages for other countries, such as the UK, France, and Japan. For those that already have accounts with the preeminent e-commerce site, there are more benefits to be had, as well.

Even a free account will net you access to your online wish lists, shopping carts, and authentications, which means you can browse online at home and them make your purchases later on the go (or vice versa) without having to search twice or enter additional information. You can also use the 1-click checkout option, just like on the website, and Amazon Prime members will enjoy all the same shipping (and other) bonuses that come with their paid online account. Plus, you can share your fabulous finds with family members, friends, and colleagues through email or via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

But what about the additional functionality that is provided courtesy of the tablet interface? This is where the Windowshop app is preferable to Amazon Mobile. Although the two apps are virtually the same in appearance, Windowshop is tailor made for the iPad, meaning it accounts for the larger screen size (rather than simply enlarging the images made for the iPhone) and allows for better product viewing thanks to zoom options that feature hi-resolution images (which look great with iPad’s retina display). It also has enhanced touch capabilities for fluid movement with hand gestures.

Although it might not look that much different from the Amazon Mobile app on your iPhone, the targeted programming of Windowshop makes browsing and buying on Amazon via your iPad a visually appealing and functionally intuitive process that is far better than simply loading the Mobile version to all of your handheld devices. And with their new “loan for Amazon sellers” policy in place, plenty of vendors are likely to upgrade their screenshots and expand the product lines they offer through the site. All of this means only good things for shoppers heading into the holiday season with the idea of ordering all of their gifts from Amazon.

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this guest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.